The Mets–Yankees rivalry is the interleague rivalry between New York City's Major League Baseball (MLB) teams: the New York Mets and the New York Yankees. The Mets are a member club of MLB's National League (NL) East division, and the Yankees are a member club of MLB's American League (AL) East division. It is the latest in the Subway Series of rivalries between New York-based teams.
Until interleague play started, the two teams had only met in exhibition games. Since the inception of interleague play, the two teams have played each other in every regular season since 1997. From 1999 through 2012, they have played six games per season: two three-game series (one series in each team's ballpark). In 2013–2022, the two teams met six games a season; when the AL East and NL East faced each other and four games (two at each park) the other years. In 2023, all MLB teams started facing each other; they played four games each in 2023 and 2024 and played six games in 2025. Both clubs have qualified for the postseason in the same season on six occasions: , , , , , and ; the two teams faced off in the 2000 World Series. Analysts of the game have commented that the rivalry is the best reason for interleague play.
1962–96: Formation of the Mets, Mayor's Trophy and pre-interleague era
Background and formation of Mets The Mets–Yankees rivalry has its origins in the histories of the Brooklyn Dodgers, New York Giants, and Yankees, the three Major League Baseball teams of New York City from 1903 to 1957. For most of that time, the Giants played in Manhattan, the Dodgers in Brooklyn, and the Yankees in the Bronx.
Throughout their time in New York, the three teams chronicled a fierce intra-city rivalry. The Dodgers–Giants rivalry was formed by both teams' competition for dominance in the National League, exemplified by Bobby Thomson's Shot Heard 'Round the World in the 1951 National League tie-breaker series. The Yankees, as the city's only American League team, would form the Giants–Yankees rivalry and Dodgers–Yankees rivalry around their multiple Subway Series competitions with the two teams, where the Yankees would compile a 10–3 record in the thirteen all-New York World Series.
However, in , both of New York's National League teams moved to California, the Giants to San Francisco to become the San Francisco Giants, and the Dodgers to Los Angeles to become the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Yankees were New York City's only Major League Baseball team until from 1958–, when the expansion Mets joined the National League. The Mets sought to create a fan base from fans of the departed National League teams, and adopted the Giants' NY insignia in the Giant color of orange set against a cap of Dodger blue, colors that also adorn the New York City flag and coat of arms. The Mets played their first two seasons in the Giants' old stadium, the Polo Grounds, before moving into Shea Stadium in the borough of Queens.
Mayor's Trophy Before the creation of interleague play, teams from the National League never played teams from the American League in official games except during the World Series. The teams occasionally met in spring training exhibition games and played 19 times in the Mayor's Trophy Game, an in-season exhibition game, every year from 1963 through 1979, and then again in 1982 and 1983; the Yankees posted a record of 10–8–1 over the Mets in the Mayor's Trophy contests.
The Mayor's Trophy games were played primarily to benefit sandlot baseball in the city, with proceeds going to the city's Amateur Baseball Federation. After dwindling interest and public bickering between the owners of both teams, the Mayor's Trophy Game was discontinued following the 1983 season. It was revived again as a pre-Opening Day series titled the "Mayor's Challenge" and held in 1989.
Mayor's Trophy GameSeasonDateLocationVisiting teamRunsHome teamAttendanceRecordJune 20Yankee StadiumMets62Yankees50,742Mets 100August 24Shea StadiumYankees64Mets55,396Tied 110May 3Yankee StadiumMets21 Yankees22,881Mets 210June 27Shea StadiumYankees52Mets56,367Tied 220July 12Yankee StadiumMets40Yankees31,852Mets 320May 27Shea StadiumYankees34Mets35,198Mets 420September 29Shea StadiumYankees67Mets32,720Mets 520August 17Yankee StadiumMets49Yankees43,987Mets 530September 8Shea StadiumYankees21Mets48,872Mets 540August 24Yankee StadiumMets12Yankees52,308Tied 550May 10Shea StadiumYankees48Mets—Mets 650May 30Shea StadiumYankees94Mets35,894Tied 660May 15Shea StadiumYankees94Mets—Yankees 760June 14Yankee StadiumMets48Yankees36,361Yankees 860June 23Shea StadiumYankees46Mets15,510Yankees 870April 27Yankee StadiumMets34 Yankees9,792Yankees 970April 16Shea StadiumYankees11 Mets13,719Yankees 971May 27Yankee StadiumMets41Yankees41,614Yankees 981April 21Shea StadiumYankees41Mets20,471Yankees 1081
1997–1999: Interleague regular season play begins 1997–1998: First official games
In , Major League Baseball scheduled official regular season games between the American and National Leagues for the first time. On June 16, the Mets and Yankees played their first official game at Yankee Stadium, which the Mets won 6–0 behind Dave Mlicki. The Yankees won the next two games for a series win. The Mets acquired Mike Piazza for the 1998 season and made a run for the playoffs but were eliminated in the last regular game series of the season by the Atlanta Braves. The Yankees won that year's interleague series at Shea Stadium two games to one and would also win the 1998 World Series, the first of three straight titles for them. David Cone won 20 games in 1998 for the Yankees, 10 years after he accomplished the same feat for the Mets, becoming the only player to win 20 games for both teams.
These interleague games between the Mets and Yankees would come to be referred to as a Subway Series, extending the use of that phrase outside the historical context of an all-New York World Series.
1999: Both teams reach the playoffs In 1999, Major League Baseball expanded Interleague play, allowing the Mets and Yankees to host a series at their home stadiums. At Shea, the Mets won their first series against the Yankees, 2 games to 1, though the regular season series was tied by virtue of a Yankees series win (2–1) at Yankee Stadium earlier that year. That year marked the first time both teams reached the playoffs in the same season, though the Mets needed an extra game for their first playoff appearance since losing the 1988 National League Championship Series.
Both the Mets and Yankees reached their respective League Championship Series and played their respective rivals. The Mets were defeated by their division rival Atlanta Braves in their LCS, while the Yankees defeated longtime rival Boston Red Sox in that year's ALCS. The Yankees then swept the Braves in the 1999 World Series for their 25th franchise title.
2000: World Series meeting
During the regular season on July 8, 2000, the Yankees defeated the Mets by identical 4–2 scores in both ends of an unusual day-night doubleheader. With the first game played at Shea Stadium and the nightcap at Yankee Stadium, it was the first time since that two teams played two games in different stadiums on the same day. Dwight Gooden won the first game with a six inning effort in his first start since returning to the Yankees. Roger Clemens won the nightcap. at sportsillustrated.cnn.com, URL accessed January 1, 2011. Archived 01-01-11 However, in the second game of that double header, an event occurred that made the rivalry between the two teams more contentious. Clemens hit Mets' star Mike Piazza in the helmet with an inside fastball, causing Piazza to suffer a concussion and placing him on the disabled list.Interleague Play Memorable Moments (Photo 3 of 8) at sportsillustrated.cnn.com, URL accessed January 1, 2011. Archived 01-01-2011
The Mets and Yankees returned to the playoffs that year and won their respective pennants, meeting in the 2000 World Series for their first championship contest. It was the Yankees' fourth appearance in five years and the Mets' first appearance since winning the title in . It was the first Subway Series World Series since . Game 1 went to extra innings in what was then the longest World Series game of all time, with the Yankees winning on a walk-off hit by former Met José Vizcaíno.
Controversy ensued in Game 2 when Yankees pitcher Roger Clemens faced Mets catcher Mike Piazza for the first time since the hit-by-pitch earlier that season. In the match-up, Piazza shattered his bat after fouling off one of Clemens' pitches, and the splintered bat head hurtled towards the mound. Clemens threw the bat head towards the baseline and nearly hit Piazza who had been running down the foul line. The incident caused both benches to clear. The Yankees won the game 6–5.
The Mets won Game 3, snapping the Yankees' fourteen-game winning streak in World Series play dating back to 1996 and Yankees hurler Orlando "El Duque" Hernandez's previously undefeated postseason record (6–0). However, this would prove to be the only high point for the Mets. Derek Jeter hit a home run on the first pitch of Game 4, immediately shifting momentum back to the Yankees who would win the game. Footage of this home run currently serves as the background for the title screen of YES Network's "Yankeeography" series. Despite no game in the series being decided by more than two runs, the Yankees would only require five games to beat the Mets. Al Leiter, a former Yankees prospect, would take the mound for the Mets in Game 5 and lose. The Yankees clinched their third straight World Series championship when Mariano Rivera got Mike Piazza to fly out for the final out of Game 5.
World Series MVP Derek Jeter said of the Mets: "In my opinion, the Mets were the toughest team we have played in my five years here. Every one of these games could have gone either way. They could have given up after [losing] the first two games, but they never quit. You can't say enough about the New York Mets."
This World Series win brought a sense of revenge for Roger Clemens, because he won the World Series in the same stadium; he had previously lost it in while with the Red Sox. Members of the Mets' 1986 team threw out the ceremonial first pitch before the clinching game.
The 12.4 television rating and 21 share of the 2000 World Series was the worst in history when it was played. For the Mets, the 12.4 rating was less than half of what they were when during their previous appearance, when Game 7 drew a 38.9 rating and 55 share.
2001–2008: The rivalry continues in the 21st century
The 2000 championship was the Yankees' last title until their 2009 World Series win. Since their appearance in 2000, the Mets would have several losing seasons until the emergence of David Wright and José Reyes.
In , there was a moment of peace in the rivalry in the aftermath of the attacks in New York City. During the weekend of September 21–23, Shea Stadium hosted the first professional sporting event in New York City since the attacks when the Mets hosted the Atlanta Braves while Yankee Stadium hosted a special memorial service titled "Prayer for America."
On June 15, , Roger Clemens faced the Mets for the first time at Shea Stadium since the Piazza controversy. Anticipation mounted about retaliation against Clemens. Mets manager Bobby Valentine chided Clemens by saying he wore a "skirt" when compared to past pitchers who threw hard at people like Bob Gibson and Don Drysdale because Clemens did not have to bat in the American League. When the game arrived, Clemens was forced to bat and Mets pitcher Shawn Estes attempted to hit Clemens in retaliation but instead threw a pitch behind Clemens, prompting the home plate umpire to warn both benches. Estes later homered off of Clemens as the Mets won the game 8–0.